Student of Shadow
by Lynn Jones
Summary: just a random idea that popped into my head...what if Storm Shadow had an apprentice, and sent that apprentice to infiltrate G.I.Joe...and she got caught?


**This is just a random idea I got while reading some old G. comics. What if Storm Shadow had an apprentice…and he sent that apprentice to infiltrate the Joes?**

**Disclaimer: I guess I own the apprentice, since she's kind of an OC, but I don't own the actual canon characters…like stinks like that…**

"What is going on here?" Hawk asked tiredly. He'd been working late – very late, actually, now that he glanced at the clock – and Beach Head had come busting into his office with a terrified greenshirt, who was flanked by Duke and another greenshirt.

"She was out on th' obstacle course, sir," Beach Head replied. Hawk looked at the terrified greenshirt. Yes, she was a girl. Okay…

"So she violated curfew? Why did you bring this to me?" Hawk sighed.

"Because of who she is and where she was, sir," Duke answered quietly.

"What?"

"She was on th' course Ah've been workin' on for the spooks," Beach Head drawled. "And she aced it." Hawk was awake enough to look impressed.

"Really?"

"But that's not all, sir," Duke interrupted. "Beach Head and I were just discussing this particular greenshirt. She's not a standout in PT, hand-to-hand, or the shooting range. She's fairly average for our recruits, actually."

"But she never seems ta get tired, no matter how hard Ah push her," Beach Head put in. "An' believe me, Ah've tried."

"So…whenever someone's watching…she's normal…but at night she goes an runs extra-difficult obstacle courses and aces them?" Hawk summarized suspiciously.

"That's still not all, General," Jinx murmured, appearing from the shadows. The only one who didn't jump was the terrified greenshirt – whose expression seemed pretty fixed for someone in trouble and under scrutiny like this woman was. "I've been watching this one for a while. She holds back. She makes it look like she's doing her best, and she had us convinced for a while, but eventually Snake Eyes caught on. Anyway, I noticed her because she was the only one who didn't make fun of the older greenshirts or the full Joes for the whole 'ninja' idea. She doesn't talk much, never jokes around with the other greenshirts, never pulls pranks, never fights. She pretends to be surprised when we drop in on something she's doing. And she's been running our course every night since she got here, and doing meditation and katas at night, too." Surprise registered under the fright on the female greenshirt's face.

"What are you saying, Jinx?" Hawk inquired, glancing at Duke and Beach Head and the other greenshirt, who was probably the one who'd brought this to either Duke's or Beach Head's attention.

"I'm saying she's either a ninja or someone just as skilled," Snake Eyes' apprentice answered calmly.

"No way! I've seen her! She loses two out of every ten every sparring matches she's in!" the second greenshirt protested.

"And she never has bruises or a limp or anything. I've never seen her injured," Jinx countered, glancing to Beach Head for confirmation. The drill sergeant nodded shortly. Hawk sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Duke held up a folder that Hawk hadn't noticed before – the greenshirt's file. He tossed it onto Hawk's desk.

"Lydia Wright, general greenshirt recruit. Army. According to this, she barely made the cut, though she's been in the middle of the pack since she got here," Duke reported. Hawk looked to Beach Head, who nodded again to confirm Duke's words.

"Says here her only living relative is Thomas Wright, who resides in Japan," Hawk mused.

"So what are we gonna do with her?" Beach Head asked.

"Nothing." This came from the greenshirt herself, the first time she'd spoken. Before the Joes could react to this, the woman drove her elbow into the other greenshirt's stomach, leaving him wheezing. Duke made a grab for her, but she ducked under his arms and kicked him in the side, sending him flying into Hawk's desk. Beach Head struck out, and she caught his wrist and flung him into the wall before ducking under a hail of shuriken from Jinx. Then she fled, darting through the office door and dashing down the hall.

Jinx raced after her. Hawk pressed the intercom button on his desk.

"This is General Hawk. We have a situation. Greenshirt Lydia Wright is somewhere on-base. I want her found and detained. Handle her as you would Storm Shadow," he ordered.

The greenshirt who wasn't really a greenshirt hear the orders over the Pit intercom, and sped up. She had to escape before the Joes caught up – especially their ninjas. Footsteps pounded down the hallway toward her, and she slipped into a bit of shadow and froze. Someone – several someones – raced past. She was about to step out and keep going when someone grabbed her arm. She twisted and struck out, only to have her blow blocked and her arms pinned to her sides and her legs pinned against the wall.

"Crap," she muttered, struggling against the iron grip. She twisted around, trying to see her opponent – she couldn't get a feel for his height or weight or skill or anything while he (or she) had her trapped like this. She caught sight of a black mask and silver visor. _Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap,_ she thought. _It's him._ Remembering what her _sensei_ had taught her about her opponent, she went limp. When he moved to pin her more securely, she curled up in a ball, then exploded in a whirlwind of kicks and punches, wishing she had a sword, or even a shuriken. _But no, _sensei_ said it was too big a risk to bring proper weapons in,_ she remembered bitterly.

Her move had surprised her captor, and she darted away, glad it had worked. She hadn't really expected it to, actually. Four Joes charged around the corner up ahead, and the greenshirt-who-wasn't-a-greenshirt grabbed the smallest one by the collar and flung him behind her. She heard him hit someone else – hopefully Snake Eyes – and kept running.

She wasn't entirely sure how, but she managed to get out of the Pit and out into the surrounding desert. It was almost time for her to pull out anyway, she reflected. Her _sensei_ should be waiting for her.

Sure enough, when she reached the rendezvous a few hours later, he was waiting, white robes shining in the faint moonlight.

"_Sensei_," she greeted him with a bow.

"Whisper," he replied, using the English translation of her name, because her Japanese wasn't very good. "I take it you were discovered?" The apprentice bowed her head in shame.

"I am sorry, _sensei_," she whispered. "I was careless. I didn't realize that Jinx was watching me, noticing things that I didn't realize she would think were odd." Surprisingly, Storm Shadow smiled.

"You lasted longer than I thought you would, Whisper. After all, you have had very little contact with the outside world since you became my apprentice so long ago," he reminded her. She kept her head down.

"That is not an excuse," she pointed out.

"I didn't say it was. But we must hurry; the Joes will surely be looking for you," Storm Shadow replied. Whisper, Storm Shadow's apprentice, who had posed as Lydia Wright, nodded and followed her _sensei_ away from the Pit.

**I realize it's not very good, but I did it on the spot. Feel free to review – but no flames, please. Even ninja aren't fireproof.**


End file.
